It’s the parties, drinking games and other fun stuff that grab the headlines. And yet, despite rumours to the contrary, most university courses actually require a serious amount of study.
That workload can be a major step up from school days – both in intensity and complexity – but many are so relieved to be on a course that they forget to prepare themselves for the new academic regime.
“I never gave it much thought and was just happy to be there,” says Tim Hartley, who is studying at the University of Nottingham. “I never considered how hard I’d have to work until I arrived.”
There are no teachers, no constant revision tests; there’s no one to tell students off if they don’t turn up to tutorials and no parents to help fill out forms.
So students will have to be flexible, relying upon themselves and their organisational skills to ensure they get the most from their course.
“University is all about building independence and resilience,” says Claire Huxham, senior tutor in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Bristol, “but this doesn’t mean going it alone.” Support networks, such as study skills workshops, buddy systems and peer mentoring, are vital in helping students adapt from school to university learning.
“These can provide a safe and welcoming space to gain confidence, sustain motivation, share ideas and talk about seminar content,” she says. “We often see first years worried about the quality of their work and where they stand in relation to their new peers. It’s OK to see what works and what doesn’t. Feedback isn’t a one-way street, but an opportunity to get involved with your subject and find your academic voice.”
Independence haze
Dr Emma Thompson, Southampton University’s Learn with US Transition leader, believes students know they are entering a new world of independence and self-reliance, but may be hazy on the details.
“Most students are aware they will have to be more self motivated, organised and timetabled,” she says, “but it also helps to have a greater understanding of the difference between the style of lessons at school and those at university, where lectures are more didactic and perhaps slightly less interactive.
“Students should see lectures as a starting point, rather than a source of all their information. And it’s necessary for students to do a lot more work themselves around their contact hours.”
Depending on the course you’re taking, you could have a full, heavily timetabled day – on engineering or medicine, for example – or, if you’re reading English literature or history, have very few lectures and tutorials but bundles of reading to tackle. “University can be hard and may not feel like this wonderful experience that it’s painted to be,” adds Thompson. “Even for the most gifted students this may be the first time they have come across something really difficult.”
As for parents, they can help by encouraging debate and critical thinking, rather than expecting their child to accept all they hear. Respect is fundamental, but it’s OK to question the foundations of what is being taught.
“Give your child the space to solve their own problems,” says Huxham. “Let them know you’re always there, but empower them in their decisions. Let them ask questions and let them find the answers, instead of telling them what to do.”
